50 ways to get MORE from Linkedin

Linkedinis a very powerful business tool. It’s wonderful for Networking, Personal Branding, Sales & Marketing, Job Seeking, Recruiting and More!I have used LinkedIn successfully for over a year now. Just to prove the point when creating this post, I posed a question in the Q&A section on Linkedin asking for people’s tips. Thanks again to everyone that contributed! So including some of my own here are:

#50 ways to get more from Linkedin

1. Realise that Linkedin is a complex and multi-functional tool; it’s going to take some time to learn to use it wisely – Niall Devitt

2. Contact/connect with experienced users and ask them for their advice as to how best to use it – Niall Devitt

3. Know why you are using Linkedin – what is your primary goal? This will determine your strategy – Lisa Murray

4. Decide whether you are going to post a resume/CV-oriented profile or a customer-oriented one. If you’re looking for a job, the first is appropriate – Dave Stein

5. If you’re happy where you are but would like to further highlight your personal capital to your customers, use the latter. It should include accomplishments you’ve made from the customer’s perspective, not from your next employer’s. They’re usually quite different – Dave Stein

6. Just be real and authentic, don’t hype yourself or your product if it isn’t the truth. I always make it a point to get to “personally” know people and what they do…after all; this is ‘social media’! – Jody Maley

15. Use your three links! You have the option to create three outgoing links to promote your company, blog, twitter account, etc. Use these to generate traffic wherever you want and edit the text so it becomes more attractive to click on. e.g.: don’t leave “My Company” when you can write “Social media blog” for example – Fred Caballero

17. Make sure to set up and add your company page to Linkedin – Niall Devitt

18. Give recommendations, endorse the people that you know are good at what they do – Niall Devitt

19. Get recommendations: one of the tops 5 things that most of the people pay attention to are your recommendations. These say a lot about you. Make sure you request an endorsement to everyone that knows how you work to share that experience with others – Fred Caballero

24. Don’t upload your address book as a short cut to building your network. Instead, invite contacts one by one with a personalized invitation – Judy B. Margolis, MA

25. If you make a list of people you want to connect to and they are not in your network, join a group that they are a member of that you have a similar interest, start contributing to the group and then make a connection – Ian Cleary

26. Leverage your connections to get introduced to people you would like to form a relationship with, after all that’s what it all about, making connections – Niall Devitt

27. Join and participate actively in Linkedin groups. You’ll get known to the participants and be top of mind not only for their needs but also when other people ask “do you know someone?” Shel Horowitz

28. Choose relevant groups and be active: offer value and connect with other people in the group. -Fred Caballero

29. Make sure to read and observe group guidelines – play by the rules! -Niall Devitt

41. Attend events that your contacts are attended and arrange to meet up face to face – Niall Devitt

42. Connect before you arrive: do your homework and check out on Linkedin each on of the people’s profile before going to a networking event – Fred Caballero

43. Connect proactively: When you meet with someone face-to-face ask them if they’re on Linkedin. If they are not, INVITE THEM, and keep in touch. They’ll always remember you for that – Fred Caballero

44. Use the network updates for fresh content (SEO and networking)Sahar Andrade

45. Make relevant comments about your connections’ status updates: that shows that you care about them. Also try to offer help or assistance if there’s anything you can do to get them closer to what they’re looking for -Fred Caballero

46. Don’t hide your contacts. Share! Leave them open so your contacts can see who you are connected with and request for introductions. At the end of the day Linkedin is about getting connected. Facilitate that job. Be a good sport! -Fred Caballero

47. Do an advanced search based on whatever you want to keep top on and save this as an RSS feed e.g. recruiter might set up a search for “looking for a job” – Ian Cleary

49.Leverage your profile with applications: Embed your blog, show people what you’ve been up to and share your expertise. Include presentations with Slideshare and add the Amazon app to share with other what you’re reading and learn from others – Fred Caballero

50. Attend some Linkedin training or get some Linkedin coaching- Niall Devitt

Digital expert, top 10% influencer with over 10 years’ senior management experience - including managing projects and teams, and growing companies in the Irish, international and online marketplaces.
Co-founded one of the largest B2B blogs in the world, helped grow a B2B social media to over 1,000,000 members, created the strategy for one of the most effective SME Facebook pages in the world and have grown 3 business websites (TweakYourBiz.com, BizSugar.com & MyKidsTime.ie) to in excess of a 100,000 unique visitors per month.
Have consulted and worked with both corporate and SME clients on leveraging digital to drive business KPIs. Speaker at industry events, have authored several industry reports on the Digital Economy and appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Business Insider and other leading online and offline business publications.
Specialities include: Entrepreneurship Business Development, Start-ups, Business Planning, Management, Training, Leadership, Sales Management, Sales, Sales Process, Coaching, Online Advertising, Blogging, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, SEO, Social Media Strategist, Digital Strategy, Social Media ROI, User Generated Content, Social Customer Care.
http://tweakyourbiz.com/

Add Your Comment

http://www.mikeslife.org Mike CJ

Change management is a fascinating subject, and I’m looking forward to part 2. From personal experience, I think one of the most common failures when implementing change is for the management to fail to first deconstruct the status quo, or present situation.

It’s all well and good coming up with a great new plan or strategy, but you first have to explain why you’ve done so to the team, and why the current strategy isn’t working, before you can get them to really buy in to the new one. This step is commonly missed out, and often results in a lacklustre effort.

Anonymous

Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comments Mike. Your insights are absolutely spot-on I have often thought that failing to explain the rationale behind the new strategy is symptomatic of management not really understanding it or buying into it themselves.

Anonymous

Very good article. Change Management is an important cog to the whole process of transition with the vital component being acceptance by humans. Looking forward to part II.

Anonymous

This is an excellent resource Niall. I will be passing this on to all the members of Dublin City Enterprise Board’s LINK! network for start-up entrepreneurs. Thank you on their behalf for putting together such relevant tips. An invaluable aid for LinkedIn newbies and oldies alike!

http://twitter.com/j38kel Jim Kelly

Good article Niall – I will tweet this piece on your behalf …

http://twitter.com/IrishSmiley Frederique Murphy

Super, super, super list, thanks for compiling and sharing!!!

http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

What a handy list! Thanks a million Niall – this is a really good resource

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Hi Miriam, thanks for the comment and I am delighted you can use it for the Link Network.

Hi Jim, thank you for the comment and tweet

Hi Frederique, thanks for the kind words.

Hi Barney, glad you liked it.

Anonymous

I Found this a great insight in”How To ” on Linkedin and look forward to instigating as many tips as possible

regards
Susan Bourke

Anonymous

Nice post Niall – you can add this tip on as No.51.

51. Put misspellings of your name or company into specialities section. There could be old contacts or new customers looking for you on Linkedin but can’t find you because they don’t know the accurate spelling of your name or company name.

A common mistake with my surname is Mullen and my company Measureability. You will see in my specialities at the bottom of the summary on my profile what I have done — http://ie.linkedin.com/in/paulmullan

Anonymous

Invite business connections you have not worked with in recent years, to connect. Literally just go through your old rolladex. They are usually excited to hear from people that they are no longer in contact with, and it will connect you with a wider group of people. It is also especially benefical to reach out to old friends from college through alumi assocations.

Anonymous

Just thought of another one – don’t think this is on your list

Marie Reid pointed out to connect with old clients (tip 52). I did some of this early in my linkedin career and had one client “don’t know” me because I did not personalise my connection email. We learn by our mistakes!!

So point 53 – Ensure you personalise all connection mails. Sometimes old contacts need reminding especially if you lack impact as I obviously do :-). I am a bit wary of cold connection requests but if you are a fan definitely personalise these connection requests.

Anonymous

Thanks for such a comprehensive list of LinkedIn hints and tips, Niall. Going through this list will help me make sure that I’m using this great business tool to it’s maximum potential! I’ll be passing this list onto others..

A friend passed this article on to me recently. Although, I must admit it took a few days to get around to reading it, I’m glad I did. It offers great advice and tips on how to make the most of linkedin, something I’m not currently doing but that’s about to change. Thanks again.

Elaine.

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Hi Elaine, Thanks for reading and I am glad that you found it useful. Linkedin is a super tool for many aspects of business and a must-have in my opinion. Regards, Niall

http://www.oliveobrien.com/ Olive

Good blog Derbhile! I couldn’t agree more blogging is a great way to not only connect with people on a personal level, but also on a business level. It’s one of my New Year resolutions to be a better and constant blogger, so trying to keep it up for the moment:)
Olive

http://www.sianphillips.ie Sian Phillips

Great post Derbhile. I really enjoy writing my blog from a personal and business point of view. I think it lifts the veil on the person behind the business which I believe is very important too. Also if I am aware of something that I think other people should know eg. Matchmaker Marketing scam, then the blog is a perfect platform to explain what is going on. It’s so simple to get out there nowadays too – twitter, facebook and linkedin in for starters. Good luck with The Blog Whisperer

http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

Great post Derbhile. Blogging is a great way to help promote the business and, I think, also a way to get to bring some of the personality of the people behind the business to the fore. I agree with Fred, all the other areas of the site are likely to be “stale” whereas the blog is more alive and brings context to the current state of the business itself.

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Hi Derbhile, Hi Fred, “The only way to check “what is this business talking about” with the expertise contrast is by visiting the BLOG “section”” I think Fred makes a great point here, I would go so far as to say that a blog is now more important that the website. Plus a blog will form the base for any/all social marketing you may utilise. It’s still the number 1 social media in my book although It’s not now often thought of in those terms. As Fred points out a company’s blog is the organisation’s voice on the net and social media allows that voice to travel fast and far. Great post!

Anonymous

Very interesting, Derbhile. The last few years have seen a very significant shift in the way we do business. It’s moved from being ‘company-centric’ to ‘people-centric’ – which I think is very healthy. We are no longer happy to be convinced by a clever website offering, and are much more likely to want to know the people behind it first. So the blog is taking over as the first point of reference in the relationship development process. This will surely also affect the way people develop their corporate identities as well, and make them more authentic if they are not already. It’s all good! :0)

And talking of getting to know the personality, I personally would much rather see a Gravatar of your smiling face than a strange bit of typography that means nothing to me!

Anonymous

Great post. Blogging is a super way to stay visible and keep in regular contact with your customers. Saying that it should not substitute face to face interaction.

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Hi Lewis, Hi Derbhile, Great discussion! I agree with Lewis’s last point. Let’s see the lady behind the great posts

http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Nicely “blogged” Derbhile,
I am realising more and more that short blogs can be just as effective as long blogposts – in fact when I see a very long post – it kinda turns me off “Oh that will take too long to read” I am not a fast reader

http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Nicely “blogged” Derbhile,
I am realising more and more that short blogs can be just as effective as long blogposts – in fact when I see a very long post – it kinda turns me off “Oh that will take too long to read” I am not a fast reader

http://www.channelship.ie/ Fred

Hi Roisin, I actually meant “Title tag” which is what the search engines read. If you have a WordPress blog, you can install a plugin called “All-in-one-SEO” which lets you enter this information easily. As for the regular tags, you are right, is more for internal purposes although I understand that they can get indexed too depending on your blogs settings. In a nutshell, get All in one SEO installed, and for the regular tags, if you have spare time go for it but don’t panic

Anonymous

Very true Niall.

A creative catchy header is critical in drawing people in to read a post. This doesn’t always have to be extreme or daring – just a bit of thought. Barney/Una rightly point this out. Catchy headlines are a waste of energy unless you can engage readers and keep them. This means investing your time on the content of the post is essential too. By the way what many bloggers miss out on is the visual layout on the post.

Blogging is no different than CV writing or tweeting with an associated link. Or what about Linkedin Profiles – how many people have “click and come see who I am” headers?

P

http://www.m4bmarketing.com Susan Oakes

This is a good reminder Niall and one I know I do not spend enough time on. One thing I have started to do is look at posts that have done well versus others and review the headlines of each. Interesting results so far.

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

@Paul thanks for that! You make a insightful contribution when you say that Blogging is no different than CV writing, tweeting or Linkedin when it comes to great headlines. Thanks!
@Susan, thanks! that sounds like a fascinating exercise and worth the effort. It would make a really great blog post??

http://twitter.com/aharbourne Andrew Harbourne-Tho

Twitter: Great training for headline writing. Thanks Niall.

http://www.m4bmarketing.com Susan Oakes

Hi Niall,

The results could be a blog post. I had not thought of doing that.

http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Well – just about to put on my crazy-headline cap for next week
great post btw

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Thanks Andrew, Excellent point!

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

lol, thanks Elaine. Looking forward to it

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Susan, please let me know if you do

http://www.m4bmarketing.com Susan Oakes

I will Niall

Anonymous

One of my favourite resources for learning better blogging tips is CopyBlogger (www.copyblogger.com) They have fabulous titles that just make you want to read the post. I keep working at my titles so this is a bit of an art, I’d say.

http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Elli, I agree, it’s a great resource! “How to Write Magnetic Headlines” links to a series of headline articles from CopyBlogger. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.sianphillips.ie Sian Phillips

That’s a great post. Speaking from the other side as in the seller of advertising obviously we have noticed a huge drop and the main excuse in the last two years is 99% because of the recession and lack of funds. However there have a been a few customers who have actually taken more advertising, therefore effectively jumping into their competitors shoes and they have done very well. It’s almost like others dropping off and these clever advertisers ensure that they are definitely still seen.
Indeed a few years ago when working for the London online directory, one of my customers increased his advertising by more than ten-fold when his competitors dropped away. He really reaped in the benefits and doubled his advertising the following year – and I see he is still going strong with advertising all over the directory. So it worked for him to increase and not decrease. I do appreciate that times are hard and sometimes money just isn’t there. That’s why at Whatswhat.ie we reduced our advertising charge to €5 a month which has attracted a lot more advertisers because it has catered to their pockets

After interviewing 38 business, marketing and sales experts I discovered that the common mistake most business owners in a recession is that they stop marketing. As best-selling author Jay “Guerilla Marketing” Levinson said, “Stopping your marketing to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.”

There are two dangers for business owners when times are tough:

1. The danger of doing the wrong thing. (As Micheal warned here.)

2. The danger of doing nothing.

Another common mistake that business owners make during a recession is they do nothing at all. They “bury their heads” hoping it’ll all be over soon. The problem with doing that is that this action can many times cause your business to be over soon!

http://www.codegaconsulting.com/ Una Coleman

Thanks Scott for your comments. Good to get feedback and other experience. Please do come back again to comment on future posts.

http://twitter.com/Micheal_Nagle Micheal Nagle

Hi Sian. Thanks for the comment. Its really great to hear some first hand experience that backs up the main point of this post. The majority of businesses that I have spoken to make the common mistake of reducing marketing & advertising spend, it is sadly rare to see a business which increases marketing spend in a recession such as the one you mention from the London online directory. Many Irish businesses could learn from this example.

http://twitter.com/Micheal_Nagle Micheal Nagle

Thank you for the comments Scott and for a great quote from Jay Levinson!

It is fascinating how many businesses the world over are guilty of reducing marketing spend in a recession, this fallacy seems to arise time and time again. While it has to be acknowledged that managing in a vacuum has its difficulties, like you say the last thing a business should do is take an ‘ostrich approach’ and bury its head in the sand or be paralysed and overcautious. Businesses need to take a ‘boxer in the ring approach’ and meet their problems head on if they wish to survive the recession. This includes implementing aggressive marketing strategies such as this post preaches.

http://www.codegaconsulting.com/ Una Coleman

Micheal, thanks for participating in the discussion and getting involved. Your commentary has been most informative. Good luck with your new venture: Greenpages.ie and greenbizpages.ie and your linkedin group, “Green Business Ireland. a “how to” guide for businesses to become more cost efficient by minimising waste and reducing energy consumption.

http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Hi Ian,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story.
It is imperative that we separate the “I am free because I cannot charge people (or some other negative mantra)” from the “I am giving this free gratis, because it creates a win/win situation”.

Recent Comments

About

Tweak Your Biz is a business community - a place where business professionals like you can stand out. Read the specialists, share your opinions and sign up to become recognized for sharing your expertise by writing on this site!